Hi, I've got a problem using a java applet in Firefox using Slackware 11. Java works in general in FF, but when I try and use an applet from Alphatrade.com (E-gate, to be specific), the applet opens and is somewhat functional, but there are glitches. For example, dropdown menus are blank, as are some buttons, and there are no "x", minimize, or maximize buttons at the top of the window like there usually would be (though this is easy enough to get around), as in the screenshots below. It should be noted that while the dropdown menu is blank. The first is of the E-gate window in Windows XP, the second is in Slackware, with the problems areas circled.

OK...this is embarrassing, but I can't figure out how to post the pictures.

Anyway, here is my java version info:

java version "1.6.0_01"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_01-b06)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.6.0_01-b06, mixed mode, sharing)

and in other threads, people have to said to do things with update-alternatives, but when I type "update-alternatives", bash tells me that it isn't a command. Thanks for any help.

i think its update-java-alternatives ....

It is update-alternatives --config java. I don't think it will make any difference, however as you already have a fairly recent jre. One potential cause of your issues would be running compiz. Are you?

By the way, update-alternatives should be under /usr/sbin.

Nope, I'm not running compiz. I tried to view the same applet with an Ubuntu installation today using the same version of Java, and the same thing happens. I'm beginning to wonder if this is a problem with the applet itself, and not a problem on my end, though I'm inclined to think that it is a problem on my end since I've found that that's usually the case. Thanks for your replies.

are both problems happening while ur using FF3?? if so it might be a problem with the BETA firefox.

Which version of Ubuntu did you use? The most recent one has java 1.6.06. Just curious whether that would make any difference. Of course, you could also visit sun and install a newer version manually.

I use the latest release of FF2 on my Slack install, and I use FF3 on Ubuntu (8.04). I just booted into Slack and installed Java 1.6.05 from the Sun website. It didn't fix my problem, but when I was testing it, I figured out that it isn't that the text doesn't show up in the menus, it's that the text is black, so it doesn't show up on the black background. If I change the background of the applet window to blue, for instance (the background color is an option within the applet itself), I can see the text in the menus. So I'll see if I can figure out how to change the font color in java applets, and I'll post here if I can't figure it out. Thanks a lot for your help so far.